In search of …. Freestyle Cruising, NCL Sun May 11 thru 22, Trip Report / Semi Live

[JIMESOPUS]

A very long day but Viva Las Vegas, always help with the drink package. Arrived, late but that's almost normal with SW. Taxi stand outside door #4, almost no wait. Driver noted that the past few days was very slow

[JIMESOPUS]

Random photo's the Bellagio Gardens, Love is the the theme this time. Right next door is Sadelles, always a great place to eat. Table was too small for any food photo's, also we were able to walk in with no wait, very unusual. 

[www3traveler]

Welcome to the beautiful city of Seattle.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful cruise.

[www3traveler]

Why did you sail so late from Seattle?  Looked like a beautiful sunset evening-- just very late.

[JIMESOPUS]

Day 1 - Alaska Airlines didn't disappoint, on time, almost early. NCL transfer fast and efficient for most of us, can't make everyone happy. Travel time to pier 66 under 40 minutes, traffic very heavy. Check in at pier was fast, somewhat confusing as they directed everyone to one line. Then everything went downhill, annual USCG inspection delayed boarding for hours, inside the terminal conditions turned hotter and once they started there was a push to get aboard. Inspection delayed the the oil transfer which delayed our departure about 3.5 hrs. 

But so far, no waiting for anything.

[craig01020]

On 5/8/2023 at 1:26 PM, depplep said:

Since you mentioned Freestyle Cruising I'd like to ask if it's possible to be sat at a table for 2? We've never done NCL and this October will be the first for us. I'm concerned about all these reviews that mention pagers and waiting 45min for a table. Is it possible to just avoid that and book a time every night?

My wife and I have been on 3 NCL cruises and have always been able to get a table for two.

[www3traveler]

1 hour ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Day 1 - Alaska Airlines didn't disappoint, on time, almost early. NCL transfer fast and efficient for most of us, can't make everyone happy. Travel time to pier 66 under 40 minutes, traffic very heavy. Check in at pier was fast, somewhat confusing as they directed everyone to one line. Then everything went downhill, annual USCG inspection delayed boarding for hours, inside the terminal conditions turned hotter and once they started there was a push to get aboard. Inspection delayed the the oil transfer which delayed our departure about 3.5 hrs. 

But so far, no waiting for anything.

OH WOW!!!!  Sorry for all your delays.  I hope the rest of your cruise goes well.

[BirdTravels]

On 5/4/2023 at 7:44 PM, JIMESOPUS said:

Another strange gift from NCL, we have been getting some strange things recently from NCL. This will be our seventh cruise since the restart but they welcoming us back anyway.

Kelly, you must be special with priority tags for a balcony room. Normally those are reserved for suites. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

39 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Kelly, you must be special with priority tags for a balcony room. Normally those are reserved for suites. 

We got "priority" tags for our B2B Bliss sailings in inside cabins in April.  Sorry Kelly, I know that I'm not special so you may not be either. 🤣

[www3traveler]

34 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

We got "priority" tags for our B2B Bliss sailings in inside cabins in April.  Sorry Kelly, I know that I'm not special so you may not be either. 🤣

I have gotten "Priority" Tags as a solo passenger both in Inside cabins aand Studios.

[JIMESOPUS]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Kelly, you must be special with priority tags for a balcony room. Normally those are reserved for suites. 

Nope, they must have been giving these out like candy during Halloween.

[JIMESOPUS]

Day 2  midway - We found a lines, MDR opening for breakfast and lunch both had lines, once the opening rush was over the line was gone. Will adjust our schedule and go with the flow.
Meet and Greet well attended, four senior staff arrived, duel events occurring at the same time.
Uploading almost impossible, using clipboard to make posting, trying to adjust to the 54K speed, just kidding or am I?
Notified today of late arrival to Sitka, guess that delay in Seattle is to blame.

[mking8288]

Hi, Jim 😁  54k ... Hayes turbo modem, analog dial-up days ??  Gotta kidding, that's 30 - 35 years ago with IBM-AT and 386 chipsets, I remember those days - running PC-DOS (IBM) and MS-DOS (Microsoft) before Windows 3.1 came out, 9-pins and 24-pins dot matrix printers.  

 

iCafe manager onboard the Epic was probably still a toddler in those days.  NCL need to speed up this whole Starlink conversion & satellite upgrade - 2024 isn't going to cut it, but what are we going to do about it, right.  

 

All jokes & kiddings aside, have a great and wonderful cruise ahead.  

[craig01020]

10 hours ago, craig01020 said:

s it possible to just avoid that and book a time every night?

Yes, I always reserve MDR times online before the cruise.

[smillerholmes]

On 5/4/2023 at 2:57 PM, JIMESOPUS said:

After our two cruises in January 2023 on the Getaway out of NYC and the Breakaway out of NOLA, we had it with all the lines, pagers, super busy bars, and congested public areas. So much, so that we canceled several booked cruises. We did have one left that was already paid for, this past April on the Escape. This cruise was that “ Special Latitudes Cruise”, while there was a vast improvement to the ones in January you had to wonder why?

 

One month later, in February 2023 we got this email from NCL about a special discount for Alaska cruises, was this one of those famous switch and bait offers? Contacted our TA and she confirmed that this was an actual offer. Here in CC, there was a very active thread discussing this offer but for us, it was an opportunity to sail on a smaller ship, where Freestyle started, and check off an Alaska cruise.

 

The Sun, one of two ships in the Sun class ( the Sky is the other one ) was built in 2001 and recently rehabbed in 2021. This will be the first cruise of the Alaska season for the Sun, so we are expecting less than a full situation. I’m not expecting a great internet connection so we are not going beyond our free minutes but will try to update as often as possible. Uploading pictures will be a challenge while aboard, so those along with the dailies will be posted once back at the home office. 

Following...

 

I tried to leave her in good shape for you.  I really wish I had been able to stay on - love that little ship!  Enjoy your cruise!

[smillerholmes]

10 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Day 2  midway - We found a lines, MDR opening for breakfast and lunch both had lines, once the opening rush was over the line was gone. Will adjust our schedule and go with the flow.
Meet and Greet well attended, four senior staff arrived, duel events occurring at the same time.
Uploading almost impossible, using clipboard to make posting, trying to adjust to the 54K speed, just kidding or am I?
Notified today of late arrival to Sitka, guess that delay in Seattle is to blame.

Sitka is my absolute favorite Alaska port.  Did they make an adjustment for departure time since you are arriving late?

[JIMESOPUS]

5 hours ago, smillerholmes said:

Sitka is my absolute favorite Alaska port.  Did they make an adjustment for departure time since you are arriving late?

No change in departure time

[JIMESOPUS]

Day 3, Good Morning Alaska, still about 5 hours to go before we dock at Sitka.

Ship has been rocking since we left Seattle, unsure if the ship has stabilzers but we haven't had this much movement since we sailed into a NorEaster back in 2017, going back to NYC

Random ship observations

The musical duo 2 Intense have a very large following, NCL has been adjusting staffing at those venues when they are playing.

Several sources place the PAX count at 1900

Martini Bar on deck #7 has been empty almost every night

Several early morning water spouts but too far out to see anything

[ChiefMateJRK]

17 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Hi, Jim 😁  54k ... Hayes turbo modem, analog dial-up days ??  Gotta kidding, that's 30 - 35 years ago with IBM-AT and 386 chipsets, I remember those days - running PC-DOS (IBM) and MS-DOS (Microsoft) before Windows 3.1 came out, 9-pins and 24-pins dot matrix printers.  

I remember all of that.  I actually liked DOS and was disappointed (for a week or two) when I had to learn this new-fangled Windows crap.  Just get me into my Lotus 123 or Wordperfect file so I can get something done.

[JIMESOPUS]

Day 4, Happy Mothers Day. Yesterday at Sitka we did our own thing, took the free shuttle downtown and explored. When we headed back to the pickup point the line stretched behind the building, towards the bridge. Unable to find a taxi we headed to the end of the line, sitting there was a red van, taxi? Well it seems that when there is cruise ships here, no taxis are allowed only tours, so our tour lasted about 15 mins and we ended up at the ship.
Today it's Juneau, looking for some gold to help pay the DSC
Totally surprised how well the ship interior looks, outside she a little worn.
Crew has been fantastic, seems they overlap everywhere, our Gaucho in Moderno was our server for lunch

[mking8288]

How's the weather, clouds & misty, or clear & sunshine ?  Impressions about the buffet options & food - we are currently looking at one of these "older" mid-sized ships for the late Fall/early winter.  Thanks.  

[smarterman64]

On 5/13/2023 at 7:43 AM, JIMESOPUS said:

Day 3, Good Morning Alaska, still about 5 hours to go before we dock at Sitka.

Ship has been rocking since we left Seattle, unsure if the ship has stabilzers but we haven't had this much movement since we sailed into a NorEaster back in 2017, going back to NYC

Random ship observations

The musical duo 2 Intense have a very large following, NCL has been adjusting staffing at those venues when they are playing.

Several sources place the PAX count at 1900

Martini Bar on deck #7 has been empty almost every night

Several early morning water spouts but too far out to see anything

guest services manager indicated 1817 passengers.

[smarterman64]

On 5/12/2023 at 6:25 AM, www3traveler said:

Why did you sail so late from Seattle?  Looked like a beautiful sunset evening-- just very late.

coast guard inspection which delayed embarkation and bunkering of fuel. fuel was being bunkered until 8pm when the ship finally departed seattle. 

[JIMESOPUS]

Day 5 - Skagway - choo choo, weather has been outstanding along with the ship / crew.
Laundry day
Day 6 - No Glacier for you, ship unable to get past the ice flow, guess they don't want a repeat of last year.
Behind the scenes tour today, tonight Dinner with Officiers.
DW laundry arrived back, mine is still down there ( I think ), didn't see it down there doing the tour.

Bliss did a drive by, heading south.

 

So far the breakfast menu has been a two day rotation and lunch a three day rotation. 

 

 

 

[JIMESOPUS]

On 5/14/2023 at 10:59 AM, mking8288 said:

How's the weather, clouds & misty, or clear & sunshine ?  Impressions about the buffet options & food - we are currently looking at one of these "older" mid-sized ships for the late Fall/early winter.  Thanks.  

sunny and warm, the locals yesterday said it was too hot for them already. I think we went too small only because of the shower, DW has been fighting the curtain for days. Next one for us is the Star which has a slightly larger bathroom